Cold Front
by themilkmaid
Summary: Filia joins the gang again to investigate suspicious activity involving Dynast. Unfortunately, that ridiculous priest is hangin' 'round too.


"Who wants to live forever?" muttered Filia.

Filia Ul Copt was a woman who enjoyed tea, had a good eye for china, and could lift a stove pretty damn easily. She was not a woman that enjoyed the company of men-

"Well, I imagine that's what mortals have to say to feel some consolation in their inevitable death," said Xellos with a pleasant grin.

-or monsters.

"So is that how _you_ see it? As consolation?" started Filia. Seeing the slight twitch in Xellos' eyebrow elated her. She continued with this happy prod, "You'll die too, after all. You're not immortal. I suppose you must think about it just like silly humans."

"No," replied Xellos coolly, "I was merely stating an observation about the way humans and dragons think. You're all very selfish creatures, going on about the world reasoning what is very fine not to be reasoned with for the sole purpose of giving you a sense of order."

Filia rolled her eyes. "Listen, you namagomi, I was having a pleasant meal til you slithered here."

"Oh?" said Xellos. Filia swore she could feel the malicious cackle in his thoughts.

She grunted and turned away from him to finish her eggs. As she neatly cut them and daintily forked each piece to her mouth, she could feel her anger slowly but surely fade. She looked at the flowers edging the large elms. The sun speckled the forest floor, warming her exposed skin. There was not much noise. Some bees hummed nearby. Every few minutes or so, she could hear Xellos' cape rustle as he set about doing something that she chose not to peer in on. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction of thinking she was actually curious about him. She stayed in her place, watching the towering trees sway a bit. After some time had passed, and her dish and fork were set aside, a thought came to her. Deciding to break her shunning of the bastard nearby, she turned back to him and told him what her thought was.

"I have but one selfish desire concerning death." Xellos smiled pleasantly at her. "That you not be the one to kill me," she finished.

That seemed to stir something in the camp. It was not visible, and Filia did not understand how it was to be so, but she felt something flicker in Xellos. It was not a sick knowing, or an elated confirmation, or even a resigned acceptance that her utterance was to not be so. What it was, neither of them could corner. Filia didn't know what to make of it. Xellos, however, seemed to sense a heavy stone was about to be placed onto his cape, in a matter of speaking.

Even though Xellos hadn't stated he wouldn't be killing her, Filia felt an odd sense of victory in the mazoku's silence. He seemed to immediately become all business again, and Fiia was relieved. A chatty mazoku was not her idea of fun. It bred a false sense of, well, companionship. Not for HER, she reasoned, but probably for him. SHE would never look fondly on their time together. And surely he wouldn't either, but he would find a sick joy in it. The same sick joy a snake finds in chatting with a mouse, she supposed.

"If you don't kill me, I'd be very happy," Filia bravely kept on. That certainly shut him up.

And though he could kill her without as much as a finger wag, Filia knew that displaying a bold, reckless honesty worked to her advantage. She learned from watching Lina that if you showed your cards, Xellos could not steal a peak and play accordingly. No secrets here, jackass, thought Filia.

Xellos still had not spoken when Lina, Gourry, Zelgadis and Amelia returned from scouting the area. "It looks like this is a good spot to settle for the night," Lina crowed. Gourry showed his catch of several minnows, all ready to be skewered for dinner. The group set to work on building a campfire as darkness crept through the trees.

"We still don't have any clues as to why Dynast is playing nice with the Coastal States," said Zelgadis. Everyone was sitting in the campfire light. Lina, snacking greedily on some burnt minnows, could only shrug towards Xellos.

"Pfetty pfweird dat myou're hangin' mround, Pfellos." She swallowed. " Aren't you on Dynast's side?"

"Dynast?" Gourry helpfully repeated, scratching his head.

"Side of what?" cried Amelia passionately, "We don't even know what is going on. Mr. Xellos, please, you must have some idea." Amelia's doe-eyes didn't faze our priest.

"Hey, mute-y," Lina prodded, "are you following us because your lady is against Dynast's plans, whatever they are?"

Xellos held up his finger and-Lina waved him off before he could do his 'that's a secret' schtick."Yeah, yeah," she returned to her munchings.

Filia watched the group with unease. No one knew why the Demon Lord was so helpful to the free states. It has to be bad news, though. Anything involving mazoku was bad news. Her eyes slid over to Xellos' lithe, shadowed form. What could he be thinking? Filia shook her head.

Filia was the last to head for sleep. She stroked her precious pendant absentmindedly as she passed by Xellos for her sleeping roll. Perhaps another premonition will come to her-"Filia," piped up Xellos. She stopped. In the darkness, Filia could see Xellos' violet eyes peer at her for a long moment.

"This...situation...between us will be over soon enough," he finally said. She had no idea what that meant. Was it Xellos' snide reply to their earlier conversation? Was he trying to scare her? With these thoughts turning in her mind, Filia did not sleep that night.


End file.
